Unsettled Weather Ahead

The verdict in the MLAs disqualication case has pushed Tamil Nadu closer to byelections. They are now imminent in 20 Assembly constituencies, including 18 from here the MLAs have been disqualfied and two that have been lying vacant. And, it is these bypolls that will decide the future of political alignments in the State.

- T. Ramakrishnan

The month of October seems to hold a special significance for the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). It was on October 17, 1972, that the party came into being. Exactly 42 years later, on the same day in 2014, the rattled AIADMK heaved a sigh of relief when Jayalalithaa, after being convicted in a case of disproportionate assets, got bail from the Supreme Court after spending three weeks at Parapana Agaraharam, Bengaluru

This October has been no less eventful for the party. The biggest event, of course, was the judgment on the disqualication of 18 MLAs. The month began with a disclosure by Thanga Tamilselvan, a key aide of rebel leader and Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran, that O. Panneerselvam, Deputy Chief Minister and the ruling party’s coordinator, had made two attempts in the last 15 months to effect a rapprochement with the rebel leader

Even though the Deputy Chief Minister did not deny the statement fully, he did acknowledge that he had met Mr. Dhinakaran in July 2017, which was before he had patched up with Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. “In fact, it was after the meeting that I decided that I should expedite the reunion (with the group led by Mr. Palaniswami),” Mr. Panneerselvam said later

Just as the dust generated by the OPS controversy was settling down, the Madras High Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into a few road projects. The Opposition had demanded the ouster of Mr. Palaniswami, as he holds the Highways portfolio. In no time came another shocker from the Dhinakaran camp about an alleged illicit aair of Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, who has emerged as the de facto spokesperson of the State Cabinet.